Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help Ghanaians abroad register for 2020 polls

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking to pave the way for groups of Ghanaians abroad to register to vote in the 2020 general election. Currently, no Ghanaian living abroad has been registered in Ghana’s new electoral roll because of the travel restrictions made necessary by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry therefore intends to ask the Electoral Commission (EC) to help Ghanaians abroad to register where possible, in line with PNDC Law 284. Under this law, people working for Ghana’s diplomatic missions or working with international organisations of which Ghana is a member are allowed to register in the countries where they reside.

The same applies to Ghanaian students studying abroad on government scholarships.

Online facility?

In a communiqué to the Ghana Embassy in the Czech Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested online registration for Ghanaians abroad.

Diplomats and students on government scholarship were asked to provide a date for the registration. They were also asked to ensure that their passport number, polling station and other data were sent to the mission by Friday, 14 August.

“In anticipation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration’s request to the Electoral Commission to register Ghana government-sponsored students abroad, you are kindly requested to urgently complete the following data,” the communiqué said.

“The completed information should reach the Mission by close of day 14 August 2020 for a very important national exercise.”

Restricted movement

The Electoral Commission had earlier hinted that some Ghanaians abroad might not be able to vote in the December general election.

The Electoral Commissioner, Jean Mensa, said this was because staff of the Commission are unable to travel outside Ghana to register eligible citizens in other countries.

She explained that should the COVID-19 enforced travel restrictions not be lifted, it would be difficult to register workers, students and other Ghanaians abroad.

“It is a challenge for all of us that we are grappling with. We have Ghanaians beyond the borders who are unable to come in. The Commission would have liked to register all eligible Ghanaians but it is a challenge that we are grappling with,” Mrs Mensa said at a press conference in Accra.

“We find that we are not able to travel because there are restrictions on travel not only in Ghana but around the world.

“As part of our plans, we were supposed to have travelled to all countries where we had missions and embassies to register the mission staff and students on Government of Ghana scholarships, but we have not been able to do that because of the travel restrictions,” she said. 

E A Alanore

* Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
#asaaseradio
#TVOL